Mtundu

a naughty and/or mischievous person. And that is Miss Evangeline's nickname. And it fits.

She is into EVERYTHING! Anni was never like this. Emotional breakdowns for no reason: sure. Crying fits of epic proportion whenever I had the nerve to leave her for a minute: oh yeah. But never this need for complete and utter annihilation like Miss Evangeline Imani. Most days I feel like all I do is go behind her and pick up, fix, or try to reassemble whatever she has been into. And now that she is crawling she weaves her path of destruction throughout the entire house. We also call her affectionately: "Destruct-o-Bean."
case in point.....

and left alone for 2 minutes.....

If I leave for more than 30 seconds it guarantees something will be ripped, busted, toppled over, or otherwise jacked up. Several books have already succumbed to her mischievous ways and I am sure there are more causalities not far off. All our local friends gave her the name Mtundu and we say "kazi yake ni kuharibu na kuchafua kila kitu" (her work is to break or dirty everything). Yep, Evy has earned herself lots of nicknames based on her emerging personality.

More Evy Imani tidbits.....
She is sleeping pretty well these days as long as the chaos outside is kept at a minimum (which some days is not possible). She still takes 2 naps and goes to bed around 7pm and only wakes once to nurse. But her newest trick is taking off her diaper while sleeping. Because it is so hot here I usually put her to sleep during the day in only her diaper but after 3 incidents the last involving haja kubwa all over herself she now must suffer by wearing clothes. Pole!

She is almost 10 months old! Crazy! She loves to be in the water (ocean, pool, washing basin...she cannot get enough!) and just loves to be outside. She has two bottom teeth (that made their first appearance about a month ago)....see....

She has found her voice and loves to yell as loud as she can muster. She surprises us with new shrieks daily and gets quite dramatic about them (see video). Music is a passion of hers as she always starts clapping and wiggling as soon as she hears it. Evy adores her sister and cannot get enough of her. When Anni gets home from school Evy kicks her legs and hollers in delight. And Evy can hold her own in a sister smack down. She is pretty scrappy!


She is crawling, can pull herself up onto almost anything, and I even saw her stand for about 5 seconds on her own this past week. When she stands it is always on her tippy toes- girl likes a good calf workout.

And just like her sister she crawls by dragging one leg behind her; sorta like a crab. But she is fast I tell you! I am actually eager for her to walk because do you know how dirty a crawling baby gets in Africa? Lets just say we scrub her at night. She is constantly on the move and flexing her muscles. Jason thinks she is part warrior princess :) She is still a baldy but I must say less sweat and I just cannot get enough baby head smell.

She loves other watoto (especially the kids at shule) and always wants to play (or her version of playing which usually involves yelling and gentle slapping:). She smiles more than any baby I know and really has the sweetest personality. And I am enjoying this time around much more. Evy is more chill (or has no choice but to be given our lives right now) and I am not so worried about every little thing and thus am also more zen about being a Mama which makes for a much happy fam.

So Miss Evy Imani or Mtundu as you are known around here these days: we love you dear one!